The present invention relates to a headlight for vehicle use having an upper reflector unit and a lower reflector unit.
As known in the art, a headlight for vehicle use includes: a reflector unit composed of a reflector and a light source bulb attached to the reflector; and a lens arranged in the front of the reflector unit. In a conventional four-light type headlight, there are provided a low beam reflector unit and a main beam reflector unit. In many cases, the low beam reflector unit and main beam reflector unit are arranged in parallel in the transverse direction.
In order to enhance visibility in the case of driving a vehicle at night, it is desirable to have a sufficiently large quantity of light emitted from a low beam and also a main beam. Especially in the case of a vehicle frequently used for a long distance drive or a drive out of a city area, the main beam is frequently used. Accordingly, it is important to ensure a sufficiently large quantity of light of the main beam.
However, in the case of a conventional headlight in which both reflector units are arranged in parallel in the transverse direction, when the layout of the lighting device is designed, it is difficult to provide a large reflecting surface of the main beam reflector unit. Therefore, the main beam reflecting emitting area is less than sufficient. As a result, it is impossible to ensure a sufficiently large quantity of light of a main beam within the space generally available for a headlight.
On the other hand, a headlight for vehicle use is conventionally known in which reflector units are arranged in an upper and a lower row. However, in this conventional headlight for vehicle use, the low beam reflector unit and the main beam reflector unit are completely separate from each other. Therefore, it is impossible to ensure a sufficiently large reflecting emitting area of the main beam reflector unit. For the above reasons, it is impossible to ensure a sufficiently large quantity of light of a main beam within the space generally available for a headlight.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a headlight for vehicle use in which an upper reflector unit and a lower reflector unit are arranged to allow communication of light between them, thereby ensuring a sufficiently large quantity of light of a main beam, while minimizing the overall size of the headlight.